How Elizabeth Taylor Became a Mother Figure to a Young Broadway Actor

Ann Talman was just 22 when destiny — and a striking resemblance — landed her onstage with Hollywood royalty.

The Broadway actor, filmmaker and singer was cast as Elizabeth Taylor’s daughter in the 1981 revival of The Little Foxes. It was her first major role. It became the start of a lifetime friendship.

“We met on the very first day of rehearsal, and from that moment on she was the most warm, wonderful sort of stepmother,” Talman said. “She sensed that I was motherless — my mother had just died — and she instinctively took me under her wing and mothered me for the rest of her life.”

Talman toured with Taylor for 18 months and remained close with her until the icon’s death in 2011. Now, Talman is sharing that story through song and memory in her acclaimed cabaret show, Elizabeth Taylor and the Shadow of Her Smile. She performs it this Saturday and Sunday at The Parlor in Narrowsburg as part of The Parlor Presents series.

A connection written long before Broadway
Talman laughs at the notion of fate — but it’s hard to ignore in her story.

“From the time I was a toddler, my mother noticed I looked exactly like young Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet,” she said. “People would stop me to say it. Then I auditioned for The Little Foxes, and when Elizabeth met me, she hugged me and whispered, ‘Oh my God, I feel like I’m looking at myself from National Velvet.’”

The show intertwines Talman’s own coming-of-age with intimate scenes from Taylor’s life — including a side of Taylor the public rarely saw.

“She was hilarious — a great practical joker with a famous cackle,” Talman said. “But she was also very authentic and down-to-earth. She loved being a mother and a grandmother.”

Music as storytelling
The cabaret features Broadway standards and selections from the Great American Songbook — each chosen to reflect Talman’s bond with Taylor.

“One of the first songs I picked was Long Before I Knew You,” she said. “I felt like I always sort of knew her, even before we met.”

Other favorites include “If They Could See Me Now” and “Mira” from Carnival — a nod to Talman’s hometown of Upper St. Clair outside Pittsburgh.

An especially emotional moment comes when Talman recounts Taylor’s pioneering AIDS advocacy.

“I was with her in London in 1981 and ’82 when AIDS started rearing its head,” Talman said. “We immediately lost friends. I watched her dive into action and use her celebrity for good.”

Her tribute includes the story of how “That’s What Friends Are For” became an anthem for AMFAR — the foundation Taylor helped create.

A star reborn — up close
Talman has performed the show in renowned rooms like 54 Below and Feinstein’s. But she says smaller, more intimate spaces — like The Parlor — are where the magic truly happens.

“The audience has shared that they really feel like Elizabeth comes alive,” she said. “There are moments where I become her — the cackle, the voice — and the closer people are, the more powerful it is.”

Keeping the legacy human
For all of Taylor’s fame, Talman hopes audiences walk away remembering the woman behind the diamonds.

“She was a mensch,” Talman said. “A genuinely good human with a huge heart. So generous. That’s what I want people to feel.”

Image: Ann Talman with co-star Elizabeth Taylor in 1981 when she landed the plum role in “The Little Foxes” playing Taylor’s daughter on Broadway. (Credit: Ann Talman)